The Apocalypse

Schmidt Number: S-5921

On-line since: 31st December, 2016

If,
as it were, we place the main centers in which the
Apocalypticer lets the description of his views culminate
before our souls, as we have already done with a few things,
the whole composition and the ongoing content of the Apocalypse
will become disclosed to us in a very short time. Therefore, we
will have to continue our contemplation of its main points and
centers today, and tomorrow we will begin to explain its other
contents.

Yesterday I pointed out that the Apocalypticer sees something
which is breaking in upon what he feels is the real
Christianity, something which wants to make Christians renounce
Christianity and lead them back to the Father principle that
can only take on materilistic and naturalistic forms if it wins
through in this epoch.

The
Apocalypticer sees and feels the secrets which are connected
with a number like 666 more or less consciously, for he sees
things and processes in accordance with the secret of numbers,
or it would be better to say that he feels them like a musician
feels the connection between tones in accordance with the
secret of numbers, but who at most only becomes aware of this
at certain places. What we'll have to do is to look into the
cosmos so that we can get more secrets about 666 from it.

We
should consider that the entire Christian revelation is really
a sun revelation, and that Christ is a being who comes from the
sun. Christ sends Michael and his hosts before him, as Jehova
used to send Michael before him in a different way. If we
consider that we are living in a Michael age, it will be
possible to place the sun mystery which is connected with the
Christ impulse before our souls in a very profound way.

The
main thing for something deep down in human souls which are
combatting Christianity will always be to oppose the idea that
the really spiritual part of Christianity is connected with the
sun. The opponents of Christianity would like nothing better
than if people would completely lose their view about the sun
as a spiritual being and only retained the view about the sun's
physical existence, as I said in a previous lecture. And in
fact the breaking in of Arabism gave rise to the great danger
that the secret of the sun as the secret of Christ himself
would be forgotten and that the whole evolution of humanity
would be deflected away from the Michael direction which should
always only as it were prepare for men's Christ-evolution and
give them their human understanding.

What happens outwardly in the world order occurs on the
background of supersensible processes for the Apocalypticer,
who sees behind the scenes of outer historical developments.
And so we will try to get an idea of what these supersensible
processes which the Apocalypticer sees behind the outer events
look like.

If
we look at the planets and the sun in our solar system, we have
a gathering of beings in each of them. Evolving human beings
are assembled upon the earth, and if we want to make a mental
image about men on earth which goes deep into our soul, we can,
for example, place the Vulcan evolution which will follow earth
evolution before our souls, since there is an evolution in time
and since we can look at a later point in time when mankind
will have reached a much higher stage just as well as we can
look at the present one.

You
can imagine the spiritual idea someone would have to get of the
earth as a world body with a gathering of Vulcan men in it if
he had it before him, and yet it would only be the earth with
its men at a different stage. It is very important for the
human soul to think of the earth as a whole in this way, so
that it doesn't take the present stage of humanity upon earth,
but what is already contained in this present state in a
germinal way, namely, the Vulcan condition which man bears
within him, and therefore also is. If we look at the other
planets we will find such gatherings of beings everywhere. We
have to say that the earth is meant to be the place where human
beings evolve, and that's why it's located at the center. We
have other planets like present-day Jupiter which shows us that
it has an entirely different kind of beings. We meet these
beings when we work out our karma between death and a new
birth. The same applies to each of the other planets, including
the sun. If we think of the totality of beings which are at
work in connection with the individual planets we get what is
conceived of as the present-day spirituality of each one of
these planets, which the teachers in the catholic church called
the intelligence of the planet up till the 14th century. We can
definitely speak about the intelligence of a planet as a
reality, just as we can speak of earth men as a whole as the
intelligence of the earth. And up till the 14th, 15th centuries
the church teachers knew that each one of these planets not
only has an intelligence but also a demon. The totality of the
opponents of the intelligences on planets are demons. This also
applies to the sun.

Now
if we mainly have to look upon Christianity as an evolution
which is in accordance with the impulses of the sun genius or
sun intelligence, we have to see the sun demon in what opposes
the evolution of Christianity. And this is what the
Apocalypticer saw. He saw the mighty counter principle of
Arabism breaking in behind the scenes of the Christianity which
was threatened by maya in two directions as Christianity fled
from Rome towards the east and as Christianity had taken on
other cognitional forms. But when he looked behind the scenes
of the outer Arabian and Islamic deeds it was obvious to him
that the sun demon was working there against the sun genius or
sun intelligence. Hence he had to present the sun demon as
something which works against the actual Christian principle in
man, so that if he yields to the sun demon he will not want to
make the connection with the divinity of Christ, but he will
want to remain in the subhuman element. If the Apocalypticer
had been asked what kind of human souls were devoted to the sun
demon, he would have pointed to the supporters of Arabism in
Europe. It was clear to him that everything which brings men in
the direction of bestiality in their views and also gradually
in their will impulses has arisen from Arabism. And this is
obviously, in them.

The
things which happen in the world in a very real way are such
that one doesn't always see cause and effect side by side,
— the object and that which has the object in view.
Therefore, one can ask oneself: What would happen if Arabism or
the teachings of the sun demon would gain a complete victory?
Mankind would then be unable to have an experience of the
conditions which have to be experienced if the working of karma
from previous incarnations are to be grasped. When it comes
right down to it, everything which flowed out of Arabism was
directed against an understanding of transubstantiation. To be
sure, it doesn't look like it from an outer point of view, but
the sun demon only acknowledges the old Father principle and
natural connections, and he wants to make men forget about the
kinds of connections that are particularly active in a
sacrament like transubstantiation.

And
so the Apocalypticer sensed that the sun demon was particularly
active around the year 666. He describes him in such a way that
every initiate can recognize him. For each of these spiritual
beings which one calls the intelligences of the planets, the
intelligences of the sun, the demons of the planets and of the
sun has a key symbol in the mysteries, and they are also
actually present in the. latter on special occasions. The sun
demon has this sign: The Apocalypticer describes him as the two
horned beast. The kind of reading which interprets numbers had
become somewhat externalized during the Latin period where one
combined Greek and Latin in the mystery language, but it could
still interpret them.

The
Apocalypticer uses the special kind of reading which was
customary at his time. He writes the number 666 = 400, 200, 60,
6. He writes it with the Hebraic letters:
ת taw,
ד daleth,
ר resh,
ס samekh.
He writes these letters with their numerical values and one
reads them from right to left. After one adds the corresponding
vowels to the consonants they give the name of the demon who
has this sign, the sun demon: S o r a d t. At that time Soradt
was the name of the sun demon, and he describes this sign and
we know it very well. The Apocalypticer looks upon everything
which works against Christianity in the way that Arabism does
as an emanation from those spiritual forces which are
represented by Soradt the sun demon.

However, 666 was there once at the time when Arabism shot into
Christianity in order to press the seal of materialism upon
western culture. It is there a second time after another 666
went by as 1332 in the 14th century. There we have
another rising of the beast from the waters of world events. To
someone who sees like the Apocalypticer does, world events seem
like a continual surging of the 666 epoch. It rises and
threatens Christianity's search for true humanity, asserting
beast-hood against manhood; Soradt makes his move. In the 14th
century we see Soradt the adversary rising up again.

It
is the time when the Templar order in Europe wanted to
establish a solar view of Christianity which came from the
depths of their souls than from orientalism. They wanted to
found a view of Christianity which looked upon the Christ as a
sun being and a cosmic being again, a view which knew something
about the spirituality of planets and stars and of how the
intelligences of worlds which are far apart, and not just the
beings on one planet, work together in world events. This view
knew something about the mighty oppositions which arise through
such disobedient beings like the sun demon Soradt, one of the
mightiest demons in our solar system. It is basically
possession by sun demons which is at work in the materialism of
human beings. Of course from a certain point of view it is
justified to speak about what would have become of European
civilization if the inwardly and outwardly powerful Templar
order — although they took their treasures away from them
had been able to carry out its intentions. During the
destruction of this order Soradt came to life again in the
hearts and souls of those who were the adversaries of the
cosmic Christ or of the Christ who looks out into the cosmos,
and they weren't satisfied until Jacques de Molay went to his
death in 1312.

Soradt mainly came to life again in such a way that he used the
views of the Roman church to exterminate the Templars. The
emergence of this Soradt at that time was already more visible,
for an overwhelming secret hovers around the downfall of this
Templar order. If one looks at what went on in these human
beings and Templars as they were being tortured before they
were executed, one gets an idea of how what had been instigated
by Soradt lived in the visions of the tortured Templars, so
that they denied their beliefs and so that one had a reasonable
accusation from their own mouths. Mankind witnessed a terrible
spectacle; the people who advocated something quite different
were unable to speak about it while they were being tortured,
for various spirits from the hosts of Soradt spoke out of them
instead and said the most disgraceful things about the order
out of its own members. 666 was fulfilled a second time. It was
a time during which all preparations were being made in the
spiritual world by Soradt and other recalcitrant demons to
prevent the sun principle from coming to the earth. They were
at war with Michael and his hosts as Michael prepared for his
new reign. He was the earth regent before the Mystery of
Golgotha during the time of Alexander and was then relieved by
the other archangels, — by Oriphiel, Anael, Zachariel,
Raphael, Gabriel, and he is now reigning on. earth again since
the last third of the 19th.century in order to go on working
for the Christ, in his. own particular way. He had worked for
the Christ until the end of his previous reign until about the
end of Alexander's reign. One could say that Michael is now on
the earth, but this time in order to become of use in the
preparation for Christianity and for the deeper Christian
impulse.

I
have described how this Michael impulse was introduced from a
spiritual viewpoint at various times and places. I mentioned
some of this recently in a lecture, where I pointed out that a
really Christian impulsivity was introduced by the
individualities of Alexander and Aristotle in 869 under the
regency of Michael. And this continued. We have a marvelous
spectacle at the beginning of the new age when the
consciousness soul took hold, as I mentioned before. If we look
up at spiritual events which belong to earth humanity and which
go parallel with physical events, we find a supersensible
school with Michael as a teacher. Those beings who are supposed
to be active for a real further development of Christianity,
whether they be souls who weren't incarnated at the time or
whether they be other spiritual beings, are gathered around
Michael in large numbers in a great, supersensible school in
the 14th to 16th centuries, where souls are being prepared who
are then supposed to appear on earth at the beginning of the
20th century during Michael's reign. If one looks at what was
prepared there, one can see that the Anthroposophical world
conception wants to work along the lines of this evolution.

When one looks at ancient mystery wisdom, it follows from what
was and is mystery teaching for the prophetic vision of future
wisdom that the human beings who as it were accept inner
Christianity and spiritualized Christianity and who look
towards the sun genius in connection with Christianity will
accelerate their evolution and reappear at the end of the 20tn
century. For everything we can do now in this age is of great
importance if we look at it from the viewpoint of eternity; it
is of great importance if we grasp spirituality for the
teachings and deeds of human beings in this age; it is a
preparation for the great, extensive and intensive spiritual
deeds which should be done at the end of the century. After a
great deal will have come before, which will be contrary to the
spiritualization of modern civilization — after the
second 666 stood in the sign of that great upheaval in Europe
which was begun by the crusades and which had its outer fact in
the appearance and destruction of the Templar knights,
everything from the sun genius which is trying to create true
Christianity works on, as does everything from Soradt which is
trying to work against it. And we have the age of the third
666:1998. We are coming to the end of this century, when Soradt
will again lift his head from the waters of evolution very
strongly, where he will be the adversary of that vision of the
Christ which prepared human beings will already have in the
first half of the 20th century through the appearance of the
etheric Christ. It will then take almost two thirds of a
century until Soradt raises his_ head in a mighty way.

When the first 666 went by Soradt was still hidden in the
evolutionary course of events; one didn't see him in an
external form; he lived in the deeds of Arabism, although
initiates could see him. When the second 666 came he already
showed himself in the thinking and feeling of the tortured
Templars. He will show himself before the end of this century
already, and he will appear in a great many people as a being
by whom they will be possessed. One will see people coming up
to one and one will not be able to believe that they are really
human beings. They will develop in a very strange way even
outwardly. They will be intensive, strong natures outwardly
with fierce features and a destructive rage in their emotions;
they will have a face in which one will see a kind of a beast's
face outwardly. Soradt men will also be recognizable outwardly;
they will be those who not only ridicule spiritual things,
— they will fight it in the most terrible way and they
will want to thrust it down into a cesspool. One will see that
what is concentrated in a small region in present-day Russian
communism will be inserted into the whole earth evolution of
humanity.

This is why it is so important that everything which can strive
towards spirituality should really do so. Everything which
opposes spirituality will be there, for this does not work in
accordance with freedom but in accordance with determinism.
This determinism is moving in the direction where Soradt will
be loose again at the end of this century, when a striving to
sweep away everything spiritual will be present in the
intentions of a large number of earth souls, whom the
Apocalypticer prophetically sees with their bestial faces and
their strength of a tiger with respect to the execution of
their adversarial deeds against the spiritual. Outbursts of
rage against the spiritual are already here today: but they are
only the first seeds.

And
so we see, if the Apocalypticer saw all of that, and he did see
it, for he saw that the true unfolding of Christianity is a sun
event, and he saw the development of this abominable possession
by sun demons. That hovered before him. And the entry of
Michael into the spiritual evolution of humanity at the end of
the 19th century and the appearance of the etheric Christ in
the first half of the 20th century, will be followed by the
appearance of the sun demon before the end of this century. We
are living in the Michael age, and if we want to work in the
theological field, in religion, we have every reason to learn
how to think and feel in an apocalyptic way, especially from
the Apocalypse, and not to remain stuck to the mere outer facts
but to raise ourselves to the spiritual impulses which stand
behind them.

The
path is being prepared for the entry of demons who are the
followers of the great Soradt demon. For instance, one only has
to speak to intelligent people who know, something about the
starting point of the world war. No one will object if one says
that almost all of the 40 or so people who were responsible
for' the outbreak of this world war had a dulled consciousness
at the moment when it broke out. However, this is always a
portal for Ahrimanic, demonic powers to enter. One of the
greatest of these is Soradt. These are the attempts from
Soradt's side to at least temporarily penetrate human
consciousnesses and to wreak havoc and confusion. What is
striven for by the Soradtic spirits who are pressing into the
soul of humanity is not the world war, but what followed it;
this is terrible and will become ever more terrible, for
instance, look at the present condition of Russia.

We
must know that this is the case, for what has the work of
priests signified during the ages when true spirituality was on
the earth? Never anything else than a standing in the spiritual
world with full consciousness and a dealing with the world of
gods, and not just a working within earth events. This was the
spirit in which the Apocalypticer wrote his Apocalypse. Anyone
who wants to lead men into the spiritual must see into the
spiritual. Every age must do this in its own way. We only have
to look at the inner lawfulness — which no doubt in a
somewhat externalized way — makes the succession of
Egyptian pharaohs look so logical, and we will see that these
pharaohs didn't follow each other in an accidental way, but
that each one in the line had his task spelled out for him in
ancient writings, and that the impulse for the formulation of
his task proceeded from what was later called the revelation of
Hermes, although this distorts the Egyptian nomenclature
somewhat. This Hermetic revelation was not the one we know
today, for this wisdom belongs to the great mysteries where one
could speak of revelation as a threefold, holy one — a
revelation from the Father, a revelation from the Son and a
revelation from the Holy Spirit. All of this points to the fact
that it was always a question for the priesthood everywhere of
working out of the spirit and into the material world, and this
was also the way everyone looked upon the priesthood.

This must become an impulse for priests again, after work out
of the spiritual world could not be felt as a reality for a
while. People were very far removed from being able to grasp
something like the mystery of transubstantiation and therewith
the spiritual secrets of Christianity through the education and
culture which had gradually been accepted by humanity in the
consciousness soul age, and which had taken on such
materialistic forms in all fields. For individuals who had to
work in a priestly way it was. really a kind of a lie with
respect to this culture of the age to speak about the deep
mystery contents which are connected with something like the
transubstantiation. This resulted in the rationalistic
discussions about transubstantiation which began during the
second Soradtic attack and which continued until the third
Soradtic attack. It's pointless to just give commentaries on
the Apocalypse and to make remarks about it. It only makes
sense if one becomes an Apocalypticer oneself through this
Apocalypse and if one begins to understand one's age through
this process of becoming an Apocalypticer to such an extent
that one can make the impulses of this age into impulses for
one's own work.

However here present-day human beings, including people who are
active as priests, must look at the rise of Michael in the
seventies of the last century, at the appearance of Christ in
the first half of the 20th century and at the threatening rise
of Soradt and the Soradtians at the end of the 20th century.
Let us arrange our lives in accordance with these three
mysteries of our time, the Michael mystery, the Christ mystery
and the Soradt mystery as understanding human beings who know
how to interpret the signs of our time, and we will be able to
work in the right way in the field into which karma has led us,
as for instance, the priest in his priestly field. We will go
on from here tomorrow.